Five years later...

"Daddy! Daddy!" A small dragonet dashed down the stone hallway, dimly lit with torches that hung upon the walls, their flames flickering hungrily but with no where to go as nothing to eat. So they stayed upon their torches and kept themselves lit, until a dragon would need to come and relight them.

The small dragonet, who only looked to be about two years old, had a broad smile upon her face as her sparkling red eyes gleamed in excitement. Her wings fluttered clumsily at her sides, as though they were attempting to help the little dragonet gain more speed as she raced into a small open room with a large wooden table with chairs to match. Within the room were four other NightWing's, one standing out like the moons in the night sky that made her smile widen even more, if they was possible without her hurting herself.

"There's my little shooting star!" Her father exclaimed with a large grin as he reached down with open arms, bracing himself when she collided into his chest and clung to him, giggles erupting from her jaws as he picked her up. "And what's my adorable little princess thinking she's going to get up to today?"

"I wanna help you with something!" Little Lydia exclaimed with a happy little flutter of her small wings. The little dragonets inside win membranes were a pitch black just like her mothers, a spray of tiny sparkling little stars scattered across it in a wild pattern that seemingly had no direction once so ever, unlike her fathers who's inner wings star pattern looked to swirl and dance like leaf's fluttering within the wind. "I wanna do something fun!"

"Well then I have just the thing you can help me with!" King Charming smiled as he pointed down towards the table. Princess Lydia followed his talons to look down in awe at the larger sprawled out map before her.

"So my little Princess," Charming started as he pointed out three red ink circles drawn upon the map. They were drawn up within the mountains, some of which she recognized from the limited time she'd have being allowed out of the mountains tunnels and caves. She could recognize Jade Mountain and the Claw-point Peaks. Though there was one spot that she couldn't recognize, but it was a small mountain that looked to have a smooth top, almost as though it had been sliced in half by a dragon's sharp talons. "I need help choosing which circle is best."

"Which circle?"

"Yup! Which circle do you think is best to pick my little sunshine?"

"Uhhhmm." The little princess looked down at each circle before pointing out the one atop of the mountain that looked as though it had been slashed in half. "That one!" She exclaimed with a flutter of her little wings.

"That one? Thank you my little princess!" Charming smiled, earning a cluster of little giggles from the dragonet within his arms. Lydia watched as he looked over towards the other NightWing's within the room.

"That's where the group of scouts will be posted, make sure they're ready to set out by sunrise tomorrow."

"Yes your majesty." One of the NightWing's bowed before they quickly left the room, leaving the princess and her father alone within the meeting room.

"Did I do good?" The Princess couldn't help but ask her father as he started to make his way out of the meeting room with his daughter cradled in his arms.

"Yes my lovely little star, you did great!" The King continued to make his way down the twisting torch lit stone hallway as he cradled his daughter, the tap of his talons echoing throughout it.

Soon enough, they grew closer and closer to a familiar hallway, one Lydia never was truly allowed to go down, her mother saying that no dragonets under a certain age could go through it unless accompanied by an adult. Her mother especially made sure to tell her to never go there by herself and never to let anyone take her there, the only dragons who could be present with her in this hallway was Animosity and Charming.

"Where are we going daddy?" Lydia asked as she looked up to meet her fathers gaze.

"I want to show you something, something I think you'll like very much." The NightWing Princess listened to her father, her ears perked up and her sparkling red ruby shaded eyes gleaming in excitement.

Lydia looked back to them her attention once more to the stone tunnel before her, her eyes locking into a circle of pale light, making the excitement within her chest grow.

It was one of the small circular windows carved within the stone, giving dragons a way to look out at the open world around them that they were hidden from. King Charming stopped in front of the window, holding her up in order for her to be able to look out of it.

"Woah."

Princess Lydia looked out in awe at the sight before her. She was able to look out upon the mountain range, mountains were everywhere and looked to be outlined in shimmering gold because of the setting sun that turned the sky a beautiful shade of red. Everything just looked to sparkle.

"Someday, my little shooting star," King Charming started as the father and daughter looked out towards the setting sun that was slowly sinking beyond the horizon, past the towering mountains. "You will be able to go out an explore the world just like me and your mother have. You'll also someday be able to see the kingdom you are born to rule after us, where the rest of our misguided tribe."

"Why are they not here with us?" She asked with a tilt of her head as she looked back to meet her fathers gaze as he looked down upon her softly, his sparkling ocean blue eyes meeting her ruby red ones.

"Because they're misguided my deer. They are being lead by someone who is making them weak and not helping them find their true potential."

"So, were going to help them," her ears twitched. "Right?"

"Of course we will, we're part NightWing after all." The little NightWing Princess turned her attention back towards the stone window, looking out at the sunning view as the sun continued to set within the horizon, her eyes growing heavy as tiredness tugged at her from within the back of her mind. Resting her head back against her fathers chest, listening to his heartbeat as though it were a lullaby.

Bu dum bu dum bu dum, the sound of the heartbeat soon faded from her ears, leaving her mind entirely as the memory faded away to the back of her mind. Lydia's scarlet red eyes opening to look out of the window, a similar one to the one she had looked out of with her father every so often, like within the memory.

Princess Lydia's eyes continued to scan the horizon as the sun continued to set far off into the beyond, something she'd never gotten to see, she was actually starting to wonder if she'd ever be able to go out and see what laid beyond those towering mountains that were settled far of into the distance.

The mountain that she and the rest of her kingdom lived within was one far off to the side of Pyrrhia at the very border of the Sky Kingdom. She'd heard from her mother that some of those fiery flapping lizards believed this mountain was theirs and were outraged when ever they found a NightWing outside of the mountain. Princess Lydia could almost hear her mothers voice ring throughout her ears, saying what she always did whenever this problem was brought up.

"Those stupid dragons still wish that Queen Amber was still around, giving them the power to boss every dragon around."

Mothers right, she's always right, she thinks to herself with a swish of her tail, feeling the stone floors smooth surface beneath it. Lydia has only heard about Queen Amber, the last Queen of the SkyWing's who had been killed in battle against the current queen of the SandWing's, Queen Scorpion, many years ago before she had been hatched.

As Princess of the NightWing's, she needed to know a lot about the other royal family's upon Pyrrhia, as well as the new dragons from a continent called Pantala. These dragons had come to Pyrrhia when she was a little dragonet. It was something that shook all of Pyrrhia, the thought of another continent somewhere out there in the world scared some dragons but also tugged upon the curiously of others.

The three new tribes that have joined Pyrrhia called themselves the HiveWing's, SilkWing's and LeafWing's. Though, they were strange dragons with their ways of doing things. They only had one Queen, a small fuzzy black HiveWing named Queen Honeybee. The HiveWing's and SilkWing's had built two hives within Pyrrhia, both within the territory between the Sand Kingdom and Ice Kingdom.

Lydia could remember how displeased Queen Scorpion was about this situation, at least from what she overheard from some other NightWing's. Apparently, Queen Scorpion was still angry about how the NightWing's took land from the Sand Kingdom, even though it had been ours first, and now she was even more furious that these HiveWing's and SilkWing's have taken her land that covered the small hills and lush meadows that separated her kingdom of sand from Queen Iceberg's kingdom of ice.

The LeafWing's on the other talon, along with a small talon full of SilkWing's, lived in a settlement at the far edge of Pyrrhia, the forest that was situated above the Sky Kingdom. It was land that had hardly been touched by Queen Flicker, and she said she had no intentions to claim it, despite her tribes pestering to do so. So the group of strange dragons lived there, but without a Queen. They were to small to make a Kingdom and it seems as though no one was ready to step up and become Queen, so they were ruled over by a LeafWing and SilkWing who looked after the town.

Princess Lydia had heard their names tossed around a bit before, though it was never often that she heard the two leaders names. The LeafWing was an older female named Pachira and the SilkWing was a male named Atlas. Apparently Pachira was more so a healer rather than a leader, while Atlas had no idea how to rule properly, but apparently he was one of the best options from the SilkWing's that lived there, out of those who wanted to take up the offer.

"You're majesty," a voice spoke up, startling her from her thoughts. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, finding a familiar face. It was Wiseflight, one of her teachers that brought her scrolls and books form the outside kingdoms. "What are you doing up before moon rise?"

Lydia was silent for a few moments, her ears twitching as she turned her head away from the older NightWing who moved to seat herself beside the NightWing Princess who barely made it up to her shoulders in height."I couldn't sleep all that well." She finally replied.

"Is there any particular reason why?"

"No, not really. Just..." she searched for the right word as one of her talons reached up to fiddle with her earring. She didn't wear much jewelry, she only wore the small sliver tiara with small embedded rubies and pieces of amber, as well as a low hanging silver earring that was a long chain that looked into her ear twice before a long strand hung down. Attached to the end was a ruby carved with care into a perfect round circle as soon as a pebble that had been washed over by a soft current of water. "Restless."

"Hmmmm." Wiseflight hummed with a nod as she turned her gaze out of the window to look out towards the shimmering horizon that was starting to dim down as the sun slipped behind the mountains curled and jagged peaks. "It happens to the best of us, your majesty. Even those with nothing to worry about could have restless nights for seemingly no reason."

Are you saying that I have to much to worry about? She wanted to ask, but the NightWing Princess held her tongue. It was one of the few things she was good at. Keeping quiet and keeping her head down. It's what she had been taught by Queen Animosity after all. She's making sure I'm ready for when I'm able to go out into the real world. Preparing me for anything that could stand in my way and helping me to focus on my future.

After a few moments of comforting silence between the two dragons, the first few stars started to poke their way through the darkening sky, shimmering and shinning, dancing around together as though they were listening to music that could lift any dragons heart. Some twinkled lightly while others flashed brightly, showing off their high spirits.

"Well your majesty," Wiseflight started, standing herself up upon her three legs, her wings shifting slightly upon her sides into a more comfortable position. "I think that it would be best for us to hurry off and get the night started. Today's the day we're going over all of the current rulers of Pyrrhia, making sure that you've memorized everything I've taught you so far."

To make sure I can memorize things quickly, she finished within her mind as she slightly got herself up with a nod, turning to follow the older here legged dark yellow shaded NightWing throughout the mountains torch lit Stoney tunnels, listen to the anchor of their own talons as the early moonlight from the window faded off behind them.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

"To begin, let's go over the MudWing's first." Wiseflight hummed from where she hobbled in the front of the teaching room. Bookshelves lined the stone walls and a dark wood desk stood in the front of the room, just a few tail lengths away from where Lydia was sat at her own table.

The room wasn't large, it was only meant for her and Wiseflight, along with her mother or father depending on if they wished to oversee their daughters lessons.

"Go over everything you know so far about the MudWing royal family."

Lydia sucked in a breath, her wings tucking close to her sides as she raked through her mind, searching for everything she knew about the MudWing's royal family. They we're large, currently the largest royal family upon Pyrrhia.

"Their current Queen is Queen Crocodile and the oldest queen upon Pyrrhia. She rules along side with her two siblings Prince Alligator and Princess Spruce. They also have four new additions to the family, being Princess Spruce's dragonets; Princess Oak, Prince Grasshopper, Princess Birch and Princess Marsh."

The MudWing royal family had only grown less than a year ago, the newest members having only hatched one year ago, but they would be all turning two any day now. She didn't know to much about the sibling group of dragonets, but she did know that Princess Oak was the Big Wings, which apparently was the dragonet who hatched first. Lydia had a hard time getting the idea of needing a title name for something that simple, it was strange to her, but probably only because she was a NightWing and not a MudWing.

"Very good," Wiseflight nodded with a hum. "Do you know if there are any rumours about a possible challenge for the throne?"

"No, there's been no sign of a possible challenge and no challengers have been seen. The only dragon who looks to be a possible challenger in the future would be Princess Oak if she challenges her aunt Queen Crocodile for the throne when she comes of age."

"Excellent. Now, tell me about the SkyWing's."

"They're ruled by the youngest queen out of all the queens; Queen Flicker. She had laid two eggs and they should be hatching within a few days. There are only two other members of the royal family living with the palace aside from the Queen and her eggs, them being Prince Wildfire, Queen Flicker's father, and her sister Princess Starling."

Princess Starling was currently the youngest member of the SkyWing Royal family, only being five years old, as old as Lydia, though she had hatched a few months before the NightWing Princess and would be turning Six any day now.

"Good, any challengers?"

"It is rumoured that Princess Starling has been wishing to take the throne from her sister, saying that she disagrees with her sisters decisions upon the throne."

"Now the SandWings."

"They are ruled by Queen Scorpion and her husband King Meerkat. They have three dragonets; Princess Trotzen, Prince Cacti and Princess Snowflake. Princess Snowflake is clearly a hybrid between a SandWing and IceWing, and it's unknown who the father is though it seems like King Meerkat doesn't mind the affair his wife could've had. Then the Queen's remaining sibling: Princess Vulture."

"Challengers?"

"Princess Vulture could challenge her sister for the throne, but with her injured from the Permafrost War, she most likely won't. Princess Trotzen and Princess Snowflake could both challenge their mother for the throne, since they are of age, though there are no indications that they plan to do so."

"Now onto the SeaWings."

"Their Queen is Queen Pearl, the second oldest queen upon Pyrrhia. She had four dragonets; Princess Opal, Prince Squid, Prince Narwhal and Princess Sapphire. There is also another dragon who has married into the royal family, Prince Coral who has recently married Prince Squid."

"Challengers?"

"Princess Opal and Princess Sapphire are of age to challenge their mother for the throne, but neither of them appear to wish to do so."

Wiseflight looked at Lydia with a hum that rumbled within her throat, walking away from her desk and over to Lydia's, moving around the princess in a circle. "The IceWings." She urged her to continue. "What about their royal family and possible challengers?"

"Queen Iceberg is the third eldest Queen and has two dragonets; Princess Icicle and Prince Polar. Her daughter Princess Icicle is married to Prince Snowhare but neither have any dragonets yet but are expected to have some in the future. The only current challenger to the throne would be Queen Icebergs daughter; Princess Icicle." Lydia's tail twitched as she spoke, the thick limb curling closer to her talons. "It doesn't appear that Princess Icicle is planning on challenging her mother for the throne."

"The false and misguided NightWings."

"Queen Misfortunate, she's ruled for only a few years and has tried multiple times to have dragonets but none have been successful. She currently had two eggs in the royal hatchery but it's unlikely they will hatch."

"The true NightWings."

"Queen Animosity and King Charming. They have one dragonet; Princess Lydia, who is to young to challenge them for the throne and has no plans to ever do so."

"RainWings."

"Queen Dandelion and King Palm, currently have no dragonets but do have three eggs that have just been laid."

"HiveWings and SilkWings."

"Queen Honeybee and her son Prince Hoverfly. She has no daughters and doesn't seem to plan on having another dragonet soon, so there are no current challengers to her throne." Though, I'm fairly sure HiveWing's don't do royal challenges, instead they just wait their turn. The thought of that sounded weird to Lydia, but it did sound a lot more peaceful than the way most of Pyrrhia's royal families have been run.

"Good, now for Pantala."

Lydia couldn't help the way her wings twitched. It was hard for her to memorize all of this, she did know there were only two royal families upon Pantala, but it was just confusing to think about another continent with more kingdoms.

"For the HiveWings upon Pantala their rules by Queen...." was it Alderfly? Or Wasp? "Queen Alderfly?"

"Close, that's the Princess. The Queen of Pantala is Queen Wasp, the older sister of Queen Honeybee and the aunt of Prince Hoverfly." Wiseflight informed her as she hopped over towards one of the bookshelves and pulled out a scroll. "Do you remember the LeafWing royal family?" The older NightWing asked as she readjusted the golden glasses that balanced upon her snout, a set of golden chains that reached over to hook into her ears helping to keep them in place.

Lydia raked through her mind and with a huff, she shook her head. It frustrated her that she struggled with Pantala, it should be easy!

"It's alright Princess Lydia, you're doing excellent so far and your parents are joyfully proud with your developments." The elderly NightWig reassured her as she made her way back over, brushing her side with one of her wings.

And I want to keep making them proud.

Lydia wanted nothing more than to keep her parents happy, even her tribe happy. They needed her to be perfect, she was born with a purpose and she was destined to fulfill it, no matter at what cost. She could feel her claws curling in upon themselves as though they were trying to dig into the soft seating pillow she sat upon. The princess snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her teachers voice as she spoke about the LeafWing's upon Pantala.

"Their current Queen is a LeafWing named Queen Sap, she's gotten older and has been queen ever since she was six years old, being forced into the throne after the death of the past queen that occurred during the tree wars upon Pantala decades ago. There are two other members within the LeafWing royal family, General Castor, Queen Sap's brother, and Prince Nettle, General Castor's son."

Lydia's ears perked up as she focused on listen to Wiseflight. She needed to know this stuff, so she needed to focus.

"Not much is known about the young prince, aside from his age. Which he is currently the age of three. The-"

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Lydia's ears perked up, her head whipping around to look back towards the dark wooden door, the wood nearly as black as night itself if it had no stars to light up itself. No dragon would disturb her and Wiseflight's lessons, no one other than her parents if they wanted to come watch, or if there was an emergency.

There was no urgency within the knock, and she didn't hear either of her parents calling for her nor Wiseflight. Speaking of Wiseflight, the older NightWing was still reading aloud off of the scroll, seemingly ignoring the knock entirely.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

They sounded more like an echo now, drowning out everything else within the room, drowning out Wiseflight's voice as Princess Lydia continued to stare at the door as bough if she looked hard enough, she'd be able to see the dragon knocking upon the other side.

The longer Lydia stared, the colder she felt. A Shiver was slowly making its way along her spine, almost as though it were a dragons talon slowly dragging down her spine, making her shudder and making her wings want to twitch in agitation and anxiousness.

"Lydia?"

The Princess flinched and spun around to look at Wiseflight, who was looking at her with one brow raised in confusion.

"Is something the matter?"

Did she not hear the knocking at all? She surely must've and was not just simply ignoring it.

"Someone's knocking upon the door, and they don't seem to be leaving."

"Knocking?" Her teacher gave her a confused look as she looked back towards the door, Lydia doing the same. "....there's no one knocking upon the door your majesty."

What? Lydia looked back towards her teacher, a questioning look within her sparkling red ruby eyes. Wiseflight walked over towards the door, Lydia quickly getting up and following her in tow. As soon as the door opened, revealing what was on the other side, Lydia's eyes widened in shock.

There was no one there.

No dragon stood within the doorway and there weren't any noises from either end of the hall. It was a quiet night, since most of the dragonets being taught in their classrooms were all out and about the main tunnels within with their teachers.

"Lydia, are you sure you're alright?"

Lydia blinked, forcing herself out of her thoughts as though she had just shoved herself out of her mental space.

"Yes," am I? Did I not sleep enough during the day? "Yes, I'm fine."

"Hmm." Wiseflight hummed as she slowly shut the door, holding her talons upon the silver doorknob for a few more moments before she let it go and walked back towards the bookshelf, her talons tapping upon the stone floor as she hobbled over toward it. "Maybe you should go get a little rest. We can resume your lessons tomorrow."

"No, I shouldn't! I need to get this right." She felt panic bubble within her chest and roar within the back of her mind. What would her parents think? She needed to get everything right, her herself and for them. For her tribe.

"You won't get it right unless you take care of yourself your majesty." Wiseflight put the scroll away after she rolled it up carefully within her talons. "You're parents wouldn't mind, they know how hard your working and are awfully proud of you and your daily improvement. You've improved already today! Yesterday you struggled with memorizing the newest members of the MudWing royal family, and today you look to have had it memorized."

Because I need it to be memorized.

"So go on and take a break, we can continue our lesson tomorrow, or even later tonight around dawn if you would like." After a few moments of hesitation, the princess nodded her head and turned to take her leave. Her mind swirling like a storm, but not roaring loudly like it had been moments ago.

As she pulled the door open and used her tail to shut it behind her, she froze and stood within the empty and silent stone hallway, the only thing keeping it lit were the torches that hung along the long stone walls that were smooth, yet also jagged at the same time.

Did I really hear those knocks? She wondered as she looked around, still seeing no one around besides her. No, no I didn't. I just need to get some rest. That's all.

She turned and started to make her way down the long dimly flame lit hallway, listening to the tap of her talons upon the stone. Ignoring the chilling feeling that slowly slipped its way down along her spine as though ice were melting upon her spines.

—————————————————————

- MindlessTyper